The Walking Dead: Redux
by Isiliahs
Summary: After the prison fell, our heroes were separated into different groups. But what if the groups were split differently? What if certain characters meet before they did in the show? In this AU, relive the journey to Terminus with different groups. More in-depth description in the first chapter. Also, no promises on what pairings will happen in this AU.
1. Background Information

Background information: Just to be clear, this AU will follow the show up until Too Far Gone. The Governor still unleashes his assault but the groups this time are the following:

Rick, after getting beaten up by The Governor, looks for Carl in the wreckage. He doesn't find him. Instead, he runs into Beth Greene, who found an injured Bob Stookey during the fighting. The trio escape the prison, with Beth leading the way.

(Rick, Beth, Bob)

* * *

Glenn never left the bus. He is convinced by the Woodburians to stay in order to lead the bus group.

(Glenn and Woodbury survivors (OCs))

* * *

Sasha, after looking for Tyreese and anyone else in the group, runs into Lizzie and Mika. The three of them then flee into the forest, with Michonne following closely.

(Sasha, Lizzie, Mika, Michonne)

* * *

Carol, after witnessing the fall of the prison, runs into Abraham's trio, who invite her to come with them to D.C. However, determined to find the rest of the group, Carol convinces the trio to help her.

(Carol, Abraham, Eugene, Rosita)

* * *

Daryl is just about to leave the prison when he runs into Tara and Lilly Chambler. He is just about to kill them until Tara reveals she saved Judith. With the Chamblers in tow, Daryl heads back to the Greene family farm in order to rest for the night.

(Daryl, Tara, Lilly, Judith)

* * *

Carl, Tyreese and Maggie flee into the forest after failing to find their loved ones. With no other options, the trio heads to an abandoned neighborhood to spend the night.

(Carl, Maggie, Tyreese)

* * *

/

/

On the way, they will encounter familiar faces (i.e. Joe's group, Gareth and Terminus, Fr. Gabriel Stokes) as well as new faces. Who will survive this time? Who will reach Terminus? What will happen afterwards?

Note: This AU will go pass S4 and into S5 at some point. Who knows, maybe I might have the groups reach Terminus earlier than the show did? You'll have to read to find out.


	2. Chapter 1: Here We Remain

**BETH (Location: Smalltown near the prison / Time: Afternoon)**

The fire from the prison could still be seen from where Beth Greene was. They had walked for hours, approaching a small, abandoned town that they had come across, but just the sight of the fire made her realize just how little progress they had made. The thought of her dad's decapitated body rotting outside the gates haunted her but she knew that she had to push the thought to the back of her head. She didn't want to break, like how she did when Shane had opened their family barn.

Bob Stookey took up the rear, making sure no one, zombie and human, would sneak up on them. Beth had volunteered due to his gunshot wound but Bob waved her off, saying he could handle it. Beth was still unsure what to think of Bob since he was still fairly new but luckily for her, he seemed to genuinely want to keep the three of them safe. The less could be said about the sheriff.

Rick was still badly beaten, the worst she had ever seen anyone after a fight, but yet he refused to accept her help. He walked in front of Beth and Bob, uncaring of the two of them.

Just as Rick reached the town, he tripped on a pothole. Beth rushed in to help him up but immediately, he shoved her away.

RICK: Just leave me be!

BETH: I'm sorry! Sorry, Rick...I was just...you looked like you needed help.

RICK: I don't need your help. Just stand back and don't get in my way.

Rick stood up and walked on. Beth, stunned by his words, could only continue walking forward, watching Rick's back since he was in no condition to fight. Looking around the town, Bob noticed a coffee shop that somehow still had its windows and doors intact. He tapped Beth on the shoulder and pointed her to the shop.

BOB: We should stay there for the night. We ain't in any condition to be out here wandering around, especially when night comes. Besides, I'm worried about Rick. He ain't himself.

BETH: I don't blame him. First, he gets the holy hell beaten out of him by the Governor. Then, Judith...and Carl-

BOB: Come on now girl, don't say that. You don't know if they're dead. Look, this is my third time being in this situation. Best way to deal with it is to just think positively. You didn't see them die, therefore you can't conclude that they're dead. In fact, this is better than the last two times since the others may actually still be alive.

BETH: I wasn't thinking that they were dead. I know they're still alive. It's just...I have a feeling about it. I haven't given up.

BOB: That's good to hear. Let's hope we can convince Rick to do the same.

Beth and Bob run up to Rick and stop him in his tracks. He tries to walk past them but Bob gets in his way. Rick sighs, turning to Beth.

BETH: There's a coffee shop we can rest in for the night. You really need to rest after what happened to you.

RICK: My son's out there. Daryl, Tyreese, your sister-

BETH: Yeah, but what good is it gonna do you to keep going in your condition? Just rest Rick, we can find Carl and the others tomorrow.

BOB: Listen to the girl, man. We both don't want you walking out here like this.

With a heavy heart, he sighs and the three walk back towards the shop. Beth and Rick enter it as Bob closes the door, locking them in for the night.

(**Time: Midnight)**

The night was peaceful. But from afar, the three of them were being watched. In the cover of night, they looked like shadows. Rick, Bob, and Beth would never be able to see them even if they tried.

UNKNOWN MAN: There's three of them. The white man is injured, he should be easy to take. The black man is injured as well but well enough to stand and fight. The girl is going to be a problem.

UNKNOWN WOMAN: She's not a problem. Let's go back and tell Kaiden we found trespassers. We need to deal with these bastards quickly before they find out what we're doing here.

* * *

**GLENN (Location: King County, Georgia / Time: Sunset) **

In his mind, Glenn was almost regretting his decision to stay with the Woodburians. He promised to keep them safe but what he didn't expect was that the group would veer far away from the rendezvous point. When Glenn had argued to stop earlier, the driver refused and suddenly, the lights went out when he was knocked out from behind.

The bus kept going until they ran out of gas. Luckily for them, they stopped at a town which had a gas station; King County, Georgia. Glenn had never been to the town before but he knew Rick, Michonne, and Carl had came here earlier to pick up guns. But while that was the first thought that came to mind, another thought hit Glenn; the others were probably at the rendezvous point and here they were, at Rick's hometown for no reason. Glenn exited the bus to look around.

GLENN: Why the hell are we here! Can someone please explain to me why we did not go to the rendezvous point!

A man who was trying to work the gas pumps approached Glenn. Glenn didn't recognize him.

MAN: Look, sorry Glenn but none of us felt safe going to the rendezvous point.

GLENN: The others will be looking for us there!

MAN: Yeah, but we didn't see anyone else get out of there. We all sort of agreed that no one else made it.

Glenn couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stormed off to look around the town for some supplies. Maggie was still out there and if he had to go on foot to find her, he would. That was when he realized there was something...off about this place. Just walking through the town felt uncomfortable as there were what appeared to be homemade booby traps on the main street. Dead zombies had gotten caught in traps, many of them still not activated. He had to be careful while walking down the street.

Up ahead, the other Woodbury survivors were looking around, looking for supplies. Although Glenn was well connected to the people in the prison, he barely knew anyone on the bus. There was only four people he recognized by name; Jeanette, the elderly black woman from Woodbury, Kira, a redhead college student who became close friends with his wife Maggie, Nina, Kira's teenage sister, and Farid, an Afghan man who was the group's designated bus driver. Jeanette and Nina had chosen to stay behind to watch the people on the bus while Kira and Farid were scoping out the area. Glenn could spot Kira's dark-red hair from a distance while just looking at Farid and remembering the argument they had on the bus angered him.

As Glenn crossed main street, he and the Woodburians were caught off-guard by a sudden gunshot. All of them ducked behind the cars to avoid the shooter. One man was not so lucky. A shot of pink mist hit the hood of a car as he hit the ground, dead.

Sniper, Glenn thought. He cursed to himself for not checking the roofs. Quietly, he motioned for Kira and Farid to come to him. Going from car to car, the two of them joined Glenn.

KIRA: Glenn, nice to see you're awake.

GLENN: Shut up, I'm still mad at you.

KIRA: For the record, I voted to go to the rendezvous point. Farid did too but he was pressured by the group.

Glenn glared at Farid who shrugged his shoulders. Glenn didn't hate Farid but the man was a known coward. He could buy the idea of Farid being bullied into driving away from the meeting place.

GLENN: We'll talk about this later. Let's deal with the shooter.

KIRA: Did you see him, Glenn? I didn't have a chance to look.

GLENN: No, I didn't get a good look either.

Another gunshot rang out. It hit the hood of the car, right by Glenn's head. Glenn ducked lower, even more scared.

FARID: Guys, not to state the obvious but...we're fucked!

GLENN: Farid, will you shut up! We just gotta come up with a plan.

KIRA: Any ideas? I'm open to any.

Glenn shook his head. He was ashamed to admit that he had no plans but he couldn't lie to her. He then realized he had one option; covering fire to let the group escape. It was foolish but he had no other choice.

Just as Glenn was about to pop his head out in the open, surprisingly, the shooter began to talk.

MORGAN: Rick! If this is your group, you should say something! I don't want to have to shoot you or anyone with you!

Glenn was surprised to hear that. The shooter had to be talking about Rick Grimes, this was the man's hometown. On a hunch, Glenn tried to reason with the shooter.

GLENN: None of us are Rick! But...we're friends! We mean you no harm, we just need...help!

No response. Carefully, Glenn looked up. For a second, his heart stopped when he saw the gunman aiming his rifle right at his head. After contemplating on it, the gunman lowered his rifle. He was going to let the group stay.

At least, for now.

* * *

**SASHA (Location: Elementary school a few miles away from the prison / Time: Night) **

Sasha and Michonne had found, ironically enough, an elementary school to rest for the night. It made sense now that they were the unofficial guardians of Lizzie and Mika Samuels. Michonne didn't mind; she was used to taking care of kids. Carl was a blast to talk with while she did feel a sense of pride every time she heard Mika and Patrick praise her as if she were some superhero.

Sasha, on the other hand, was used to handling the adults. Due to her being on the council and going on supply runs, she didn't have a lot of time for just hanging out with the other survivors. She didn't hate having Lizzie and Mika around but she definitely did not want to be den mother. The girls were asleep. Mika was sleeping with the doll she had found earlier that day while Lizzie had fallen asleep next to Mika. Sasha, who was sitting next to Michonne, was slowly drinking some tea Michonne had made earlier that night. It wasn't very good but at least it calmed her nerves.

SASHA: Hey, Mich?

MICHONNE: What?

SASHA: What's our gameplan here? Do you have any idea where we're going? I mean, no one was at the rendezvous point so I'd like to know you have a place in mind instead of just wandering around Georgia for the rest of our lives.

MICHONNE: Sorry to disappoint you. But to be honest, wandering around isn't so bad. That's what I used to do before I met the group. It was miserable and pointless but at least I was doing something.

SASHA: Well, I guess now you can go back to that but with three people to tag along with.

Sasha sighed. She looked at Lizzie and Mika, who both looked peaceful asleep.

SASHA: Goddammit...of all the people those girls could've ended up with, why did it have to be us?

MICHONNE: They're lucky they ended up with anyone. Better us than no one at all.

SASHA: I just wish it was Carol who got these kids. She pretty much became their mom after their dad died. Hell, with all the people in the camp, I barely even talked with them. I don't know anything about their past, what they like, who they like hanging around with, or anything else about them. I know I'm sounding awful right now, and I'm not trying to say I want to get rid of them. It's just...I don't really trust myself handling the kids.

MICHONNE: I get what you're feeling. You want to take care of people but you don't feel like you're the right person to do it. Happens to anyone who takes on that role. You remember Andrea, right?

SASHA: Yeah, the blonde woman who hopped the fence.

MICHONNE: I didn't really trust myself in taking care of her at times. I knew she could handle herself but there were times I felt like she needed my help. And during those times she did need me, I doubted myself. It's what comes from caring for others, you start doubting your every move because you don't want to hurt the ones you love.

SASHA: You know, your optimistic view of all of this is really sounding like Beth right now.

MICHONNE: And your pessimism is sounding a lot like Daryl.

Sasha and Michonne chuckled at that. Just then, the bushes behind them shook. Immediately, Sasha went for her pistol while Michonne unsheathed her katana. Lizzie and Mika awoke at the sounds. Before they could say a word, Sasha motioned for them to stay quiet. They had no idea if it was a zombie or another person.

A hooded figure jumped out of the bush. He patted down his pants and jackets, indicating he was human. At that, Sasha and Michonne relaxed a little but still had their guard up. The stranger took off his hood. He was a black man in his 30's with a bald head. The man walked up to the four women, his hands raised to show he meant no harm. He didn't seem to care that he had a gun and a sword aimed at his head.

GABRIEL: Good evening, ladies.

MICHONNE: Don't move. Sasha is going to go to you and pat you down for weapons.

GABRIEL: Of course, by all means.

Sasha moved up to pat the man down. After making sure he was clean, Sasha stepped back, still holding the man at gunpoint.

MICHONNE: Who the hell are you? Were you spying on us? Are there others with you?

GABRIEL: Relax. Yes I was spying but I'm alone and I know I can't prove that but just hear me out. Now, my name is Gabriel Stokes and I am a priest. My church is actually not too far from here. I know that me being here is quite shady but I'm looking for people to come with me on a special trip.

Sasha turned to Michonne, who signaled with her face that she did not trust the stranger.

SASHA: To where?

GABRIEL: Down south to Savannah. Didn't you hear? There's a survivor colony there that's got it made! I was going to check it out since there's nowhere to go up north. As a servant of God, I made it my mission to find any survivors around this area before I made the trip. As of now, you four are the only ones I found. Now, what do you girls say? Sound good?

Sasha and Michonne look at each other, unsure how to respond.

* * *

**CAROL (Location: The woods, near a set of railroad tracks / Time: Afternoon) **

It had only been two hours since Carol had met Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita. They seemed like reasonably good people; Rosita mostly kept to herself and avoided Carol, Eugene seemed harmless, only making video game jokes and scientific observations whenever she chose to talk to him, and Abraham, despite his gruff demeanor, came off as a man with good intentions and a clear goal in mind. He definitely wasn't the Governor who always seemed to be scheming.

Carol had trouble trusting them since they were strangers and the last thing she wanted was to trust in strangers but she kept herself together and went against her instincts. Being alone in the woods made her realize how much she missed being with other people and although she didn't want to trust these new people, it was better than being alone again. _  
_

According to Abraham, the mullet man Eugene was a scientist who knew how to stop the zombie apocalypse. Carol laughed at that the first time she heard it. She didn't believe it for a second; after the incident with Dr. Jenner and the CDC, no way was there ever going to be a cure. But she didn't argue with how ridiculous this all sounded. On one hand, she didn't want the strangers to hate her for calling them out on their claims. On the other hand, she was curious. She wanted to know if Eugene was really lying or telling the truth and part of her really did want to go to DC to find out. However, her need to search for any survivors of the prison was greater than her curiosity.

The quartet was on foot; they had lost their armored truck thanks to Eugene, who foolishly decided to fire a rifle during a zombie ambush despite having never fired a rifle before. It didn't help that the car she was left with by Rick had broken down. While Abraham hated being on foot, Carol didn't mind; she liked being on foot and there was no rush to go to Washington D.C.. At least, no rush according to Eugene.

The day was going by without any problems until the group was stopped by a sudden loud screaming. It was a man and from how loud he was, he was close by. Immediately, Abraham started running towards the screaming. Carol, Rosita, and Eugene followed closely.

CAROL: Abraham, shouldn't we be running away from the screaming!

ABRAHAM: We gotta shut that guy up! He's gonna alert that motherfucking herd on the highway if he keeps screaming like that!

Herds. Carol did not want to deal with a herd. That was why they were walking in the forest, the highway was congested with a zombie herd so big, she couldn't even see the back end of the herd. But even now, she was worried that it was too late to stop the herd since the man had already screamed.

The four of them burst through the bush to find a peculiar sight. It was a man in his late 20s / early 30s and despite the grime on his face as a result of not washing for days, he was still a relatively handsome man. He had his leg caught in a bear trap, which was hidden beneath heavy grass. The man stopped screaming. Abraham immediately raised his Desert Eagle pistol at him and the man raised his hands to show he had nothing to hide.

MAN: Please! Just help me here, I promise I'm not a bad guy.

ABRAHAM: We'll see about that. Are you alone?

MAN: Look, I get it. A guy on his own randomly gets his foot caught in a bear trap, it sounds fishy. Okay, yes, I am part of a group but I got separated. We ran into this big fucking herd on the highway and I ran here to get away. But trust me on this, this is not a trap! I'm the only one here! Besides, this is a pretty fucking stupid place to plant a trap. Right next to a giant herd? Come on!

Thanks to years of putting on a face for her husband Ed, Carol could spot when someone was acting. Looking at the man's face, Carol could see he was being genuine. But then again, he could've been a really good actor. It was hard to tell so for now, Carol decided to help him.

Carol approached the strange man cautiously. She knelt down to tend to his wounds but kept her guard up just in case he tried anything. Meanwhile, Abraham and Eugene got to work on opening the bear trap while Rosita stood guard. Just looking at his leg, Carol already knew the man wouldn't be able to walk for days. The hooks were in deep.

CAROL: Wow, this looks bad. Okay, Abraham and Eugene are going to get you free and afterwards, I'll stitch and clean up your wound. For now, just lie down and try to relax.

MAN: I don't think I can. Jesus, can you believe this? I made it this far into the apocalypse and I still make stupid mistakes like this. Problem was that I wasn't looking. I got separated from my group, tried to find them in the chaos, and all of a sudden, I feel this sharp pain down on my leg. Ow! Can you watch what you're doing!

ABRAHAM: Hey asshole, let us do our work so the doc can do her work.

The man sighed and gritted his teeth to bear the pain.

CAROL: Sorry. We're doing our best to help you but you gotta be cooperative.

MAN: I got you, just please. Do what you can.

CAROL: There that's better. Now, while they do that, let's introduce ourselves. You already know these two, this woman here is Rosita, and I'm Carol. Can you tell us your name?

The man looked right into Carol's eyes. Carol felt uncomfortable in his stare but she didn't break the stare. The last thing she wanted to do was look weak in front of a stranger.

GARETH: Gareth...my name's Gareth.

* * *

**DARYL (Location: Hershel's farm / Time: Night) **

It was almost surreal seeing the farm again for Daryl. The barn was now a crumpled mess of ashes and burnt pieces of wood. The RV was gone as well, burnt down to the ground. Daryl didn't even want to go near the thing; even though Jimmy's body was probably incinerated by the fire, just knowing that he died there disturbed Daryl.

Fortunately for the group, the zombie herd that attacked the farm had dispersed. Of course, there were a few zombies here and there walking around but nothing they couldn't handle. Approaching the front door of the house, Daryl fired one bolt at a zombie sitting on the porch. It went right into the zombie's nose, killing it instantly.

Lilly Chambler had somehow gotten Judith to quiet down. She had cried the whole time, from escaping the prison to walking down the highway. It was a miracle that they had somehow reached the farm without a large herd on their tail. Just holding Judith almost made Lilly want to cry. Not long ago, Meghan, her only daughter, had died, bitten and then shot by that deranged psychopath she thought was a good man. It was bittersweet, putting Brian down, but it had to be done.

Tara Chambler, who made it her mission to protect her sister and Judith, wandered around in order to take in her surroundings. She had never been to this farm and the last thing she wanted was to get lost or find an area of the farm she was not familiar with. While wandering about, she came across a makeshift cemetery. There were several graves, all of them unmarked. Curious, she ran back to Daryl to ask about the tombstones. Daryl was busy trying to open the front door, which didn't seem to budge.

TARA: Daryl! Hey, Daryl!

Daryl snorted, frustrated at this newcomer trying to get his attention. Everything about the situation was irritating him, especially once he realized there was something blocking the door on the other side. Tara wanted to help open the door but knowing Daryl was not in the best of moods, she stayed back and let him handle the door by himself.

TARA: I know you're busy but can you tell me what's up with the graves? You said you stayed here before reaching the prison. I was hoping you would know anything about them.

DARYL: They're none of your business. Now shut up and keep watch.

TARA: Okay...sorry, didn't mean to offend.

DARYL: You weren't, you were just being a pain in the ass.

Tara shrugged. Lilly shot a glare at Tara, nodding her head. It was obvious she didn't want Tara to piss Daryl off even more. They had gotten lucky when Daryl spared them when he didn't have to and they knew it. Even though they didn't help in the invasion, they were still on the Governor's side. Tara had watched as Daryl shot Mitch with his crossbow. She knew that if she wasn't holding Judith when he saw her, she would've gotten an arrow right in her eye.

Daryl sighed. He hated all of this. With all this stress and tension in the air, he felt like he was becoming the asshole redneck he was back when the group was camped outside Atlanta. It felt natural to snap at people but even though he did, he didn't like to anymore. Realizing that he was stuck with the Chamblers, no matter how much he didn't want to be, he turned to the sisters, who looked right back at him.

DARYL: Sophia, Annette, Shawn, and Dale. They were the ones you found buried. They were...good people.

TARA: I'm so sorry...it's always a shame to lose people you loved.

DARYL: Well, they died a long time ago so quit being sorry for things that weren't your fault. Now, if you really wanna be useful, help me open this goddamn door.

Tara smiled. It wasn't much to earn Daryl's full trust but if this eased tensions between them even a little bit, it was worth it. Tara and Daryl pressed on the door to push back whatever it was blocking the door. The door began to open and revealing that it was a couch with weights on it to make it harder to push.

Something wasn't right here, Daryl thought. Did someone take over the house while we were gone? Pushing that thought to the side for a second, the duo gave one last push and opened the door. Tara smiled at Daryl, who nodded his head as a sign of thanks.

All of a sudden..._BANG! _For a second, the world slowed down for Daryl as Tara clutched her stomach in pain. She dropped to the ground, landing right where the bullet had hit her.

LILLY: TARA! NO!

Judith started crying as Lilly dropped down to help Tara. The bullet had gone clean through, luckily enough. In a rush of adrenaline, Daryl raised his crossbow and charged inside, ready to shoot the idiot who fired at them.

Then, he saw who it was. Almost on instinct, Daryl lowered his crossbow. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The shooter was aiming a small revolver right at Daryl's head. He was ready to pull as well but stopped after seeing Daryl. Slowly, he lowered his gun. His wife and son sighed in relief upon seeing Daryl.

JOSE: It's you...the man on the bridge.

Daryl had never expected to come across the Mexican family he had saved from Merle again. And yet there they were, taking residence in the Greene family farm.

* * *

**CARL (Location: Abandoned house / Time: Morning of the next day) **

It had been one day since the prison fell. The shock of it all was still evident in Carl, Maggie, and Tyreese. Maggie was feeling it the worst; not only was Hershel gone, but Beth and Glenn. She was still asleep while Carl and Tyreese ate breakfast. The two decided not to wake her up, agreeing that she needed rest.

The cereal they had found in the house was stale but it was something. Unfortunately, no milk. But having no milk was the least of their problems.

While eating the cereal, they couldn't help but think of the food back at the prison. They had gotten used to eating great food back in the prison, like Daryl's bar-be-cue, Carol's special stew, and Beth's chicken pot pie, that the cereal only reminded them of what they lost. Carl was especially glum by it. It was just food but it was making him feel miserable. Tyreese, on the other hand, laughed at the thought of it.

CARL: What's so funny?

TYREESE: Ha, nothing. I know this is not the time to be laughing about anything but it's just...I forgot that when I was on the road with Sasha, Allen, Ben, and Donna, the food we were collecting was absolutely terrible. I mean, godawful. I remember, Allen tried making us eat these stale nutrition bars and even though the two of us and Donna were able to hold it in, Ben and Sasha threw up a few minutes later. But the thing is, we eventually got used to shitty food. Then, we found the prison and we had all that great food...it's amazing just how hard it is to go back to the bad food. It just goes to show, you only start realizing just how good you have it once you have it taken away from you.

Tyreese took a spoonful of cereal, still smirking. Carl, thinking about their situation in a new light, also began to smile.

CARL: I get it. I mean, yeah, we weren't making, like, five-star dishes but compared to the food we find out here, they might as well been. Do you remember that cook-off Hershel held during the fall?

TYREESE: Yeah, it was someone's birthday. Now that was a great day. I was working the fences with Karen and we had spent all afternoon killing walkers. Then that night, we were all treated to a cook-off. Now, that was just great.

CARL: I know. It was Beth's team versus Maggie's team. I remember me and Patrick were rooting for Beth because she also had Carol on the team and we both loved their food.

TYREESE: Sure it was the girl's cooking that you loved about Beth?

Carl blushed. On seeing how red Carl's face got, Tyreese could only laugh. He patted Carl on his shoulder.

TYREESE: Relax, little man, you're in that age so you got nothing to be embarrassed about. I admit, she's not bad looking. I mean, she was taken at the time, but she definitely had most of the boys looking her way-

CARL: ANYWAYS, yeah, Glenn was with Beth too but he was more of a back-up member. Now, Lizzie and Mika were on Maggie's team because Daryl and Zach were on her team and wow, I can't even describe how much they loved Daryl's bar-be-cue. Like, they both begged me for my leftovers the first day he cooked. Hell, everyone loved Daryl's bar-be-cue. It was just the best bar-be-cue we've ever had.

TYREESE: Yeah, his bar-be-cue was alright. I've had better in the past. But I can see why you kids loved it the way you did. Not much else to compare his cooking to.

CARL: That was a good day. It didn't even matter that Beth and Maggie tied, we were all just laughing about it when it was all over.

At that, Carl sighed and went back to his cereal. The memories of the prison, while a peaceful place to drift off to, were still too much at this point. Tyreese could see it in Carl's face. He wanted to reach out to the boy and tell him it'd be alright but deep down, he wasn't sure if anything would ever be alright.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Maggie woke up and joined the boys downstairs. Her hair was messy but it didn't seem like she cared. She sat next to Carl, grabbed a bowl, and began pouring the cereal into it. She ate quickly, which surprised Tyreese.

TYREESE: You okay, Mags? You don't have to eat that fast, we aren't going anywhere in a hurry.

MAGGIE: We are going somewhere. And I'm fine...let's just eat breakfast so we can pack our stuff up. We've got a big day ahead of us.

CARL: Why, what are we doing?

MAGGIE: We're going to find the bus and get Glenn and Beth. We aren't doing anything else, okay.

Maggie took a spoonful of cereal, not even looking at Tyreese and Carl. The two boys just shook their heads, agreeing with the plan. Personally, they wanted to find their own loved ones but they had no idea where to look. At least Maggie had some idea.

Upon leaving the house, what stunned the three of them was how empty the streets were. That was the one good thing to come from the Governor's assault; all the zombies in the area were probably at the prison.

Map at hand, Maggie walked in front, leading the group towards the rendezvous point.

(**Time: 2 hours later, still on the road) **

Although the trail of the bus was long gone, what kept hope alive with Maggie was that the bus had to have gone to the rendezvous point. Glenn was on it and she knew he would've wanted them to head to the established area. All they now had to do was reach it and see if the bus was there. As they walked down the road, they suddenly heard a gunshot from behind. They stopped to see who it was. Maggie and Carl pulled out their guns while Tyreese pulled out his rifle. They looked around to find out where the gunshot rang out from. As they did, another gunshot went off, this time much closer. Someone was shooting but they were not sure who they were shooting at.

MAGGIE: I don't see anyone! How about you two?

TYREESE: Nothing...and we got no cars to hide behind. We're sitting ducks out here.

Rookie mistake, Carl thought. Walking down the road, with no cover, was something Rick told the group not to do. They had walked right into an ambush with no place to hide.

The men shooting at them burst from the bushes and surrounded Carl, Maggie, and Tyreese, ready to kill them all if they made any sudden moves. There was seven of them, each of them armed to the teeth. With no other option and too many of them to fight off, the three dropped their weapons and held their hands up to surrender. A long-haired, greasy looking man wielding a compound bow stepped up. He was glancing at Maggie and cat called her, which only infuriated her.

MAGGIE: You keep looking at me like that and I'll knock your teeth out.

The man laughed, not taking Maggie seriously.

LEN: My my...aren't you something. You are, by far, the finest piece of ass that I've seen in a long while. And I like my girls sassy, ain't got time for the dainty types.

LOU: Claimed! I'm claiming the girl.

LEN: Man, fuck you Lou! I saw her first!

LOU: Don't matter, Len, you should've claimed her! Them's the rules!

Maggie moved to grab her gun but Tyreese stopped her by grabbing her hand. Len barely had time to react but when he did, Tyreese waved him off. Maggie glared at him but Tyreese nodded no. He didn't have to say anything; the look he gave her was telling her it wasn't the right time.

Len backed away as what looked like the leader of the group stepped up to greet them. He was a surly looking man with messy white hair and a goatee to match. Carl glared at the man as he knelt down to Carl's level.

JOE: Boys, settle down. That's not anyway to treat our honored guest. As for you three, welcome to the family. From now on...you three are all claimed.

* * *

**Author's note: Sorry if each section is short. This chapter's purpose is to reveal what the characters have been up to after the prison. From now on, only two viewpoints per chapter in order to focus on character and plot development. But anyways, yeah, hope you enjoyed reading!**


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